Rajesh Mishra

Media Raj

March 1, 2012, in Rewa, India

Two assailants hit Mishra on the head with an iron rod while
he was at a public tea stall in Rewa town in the central state of Madhya
Pradesh, according to local news reports. The journalist died at a local
hospital, the reports said.

Mishra, a journalist for the local Hindi-language weekly Media
Raj, had written articles on alleged financial irregularities in local
schools, according to the news reports. The reports cited the journalist's
family members as saying that he had been threatened during the week leading up
to the attack.

Police arrested at least four men for carrying out the
murder, including Rajneesh Banerjee, who owned the schools Mishra was covering
and a rival Hindi-language weekly, Vindhya Bharat. Vindhya Bharat
Editor Anil Tripathi and two other employees were also arrested.

Rewa Superintendent of Police Umesh Joga told the New
Delhi-based media watchdog website The Hoot that Banerjee and his
associates had retaliated against Mishra in connection with his reports. Vindhya
Bharat and Media Raj each had a circulation of about 500 copies, The
Hoot reported.